The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team travelled to Toronto on Jan. 22-23 for a doubleheader against the Ryerson Rams and the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues.
The Ravens faced the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) number four ranked Ryerson Rams first on Jan. 22 in a 35-point loss, the biggest margin this year. The Rams started strong, ending the first quarter up 27-15.
The Ravens stayed in it throughout the second quarter, and walked into halftime down by 10 points. In the third quarter, however, the Rams blew the game open, led by guard Cara Tiemens. Carleton was unable to get their offence going in the second half, and the game ended with a final score of 88-53.
“We really got outworked,” said Ravens starting centre Heather Lindsay. “We were very sloppy with the ball and they capitalized on every one of our mistakes.”
The Ravens only had seven assists to their 23 turnovers and could not stop Ryerson, who also shot 27 free throws in the game.
“We did not play with any composure and being a veteran team, Ryerson was able to take advantage of sloppiness,” Lindsay said.
The Ravens did enjoy a season high from forward Lindsay Shotbolt, who scored 13 in the loss.
Carleton bounced back the next day with a close 67-63 victory against the U of T Varsity Blues. Lindsay had her fifth double-double of the season, leading the way for the Ravens with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“She’s a big presence on the floor,” said Ravens shooting guard Stephanie Carr. “Other teams have a difficult time defending her one-on-one, so that opens up opportunities for others.”
The first half saw the Ravens and Blues going at it with neither team able to gain a definitive upper hand. The Ravens walked into the changing room at halftime down 27-25, looking for their first win of 2016.
The Ravens came out of the half with a different approach, looking to out-hustle the Blues for the win. The Ravens dug down and played physical to close out the game, shooting 26 free throws in the second half. They amassed a season-high 61 rebounds, and forced U of T to beat them from outside, a challenge the Varsity Blues were not up for. The Blues shot just two of 22 from three during the game, and the Ravens closed out the game leading by four.
“It’s always tough to come back from a loss, so going into the U of T game, our mentality was to bring the fight to them,” Lindsay said. “I felt like we did a good job of that. We played as a team and we stayed composed in critical times.”
Lindsey Suprunchuk added nine points and nine rebounds for Carleton, who improved their season record to 6-4. The Blues were led by Keyira Parkes, a freshman guard who had a career night with 23 points in the game.
Carr said this weekend the Ravens gained “a new-found willingness to battle for each other, with each other, on the court.”
The Ravens will welcome York and Queens next weekend, Jan. 29-30, for back-to-back home games at the Ravens’ Nest.
